Introduced in 2016, this nameplate marked Bugatti’s next-generation hypercar and succeeded the Veyron as the brand’s flagship road model. The name honored Louis Chiron, the Monaco-born racing driver whose achievements were closely tied to Bugatti’s prewar competition history. From the outset, the car was positioned as a hand-built, ultra-limited, top-tier performance flagship rather than a conventional production sports car.
The model’s history is usually understood as a single continuous era that began with the public debut in 2016 and ended in 2024, when Bugatti announced the completion of the 500th and final example. Over that span, the line evolved through several important variants and special configurations, including more focused sport-oriented versions and later high-speed derivatives. Those sub-models broadened the character of the family, but they did not create separate production runs for the nameplate itself.
Historically, this car became significant not only as the successor to the Veyron, but also as the standard-bearer for Bugatti’s modern W16 era. It carried the brand into a new chapter of limited-volume craftsmanship, extreme performance, and bespoke personalization, while also serving as the foundation for record-setting special editions and some of the most talked-about roadgoing Bugattis of the modern era. By the time production ended, it had become one of the defining halo cars of the 2010s and early 2020s, and a central reference point in the company’s contemporary identity.